Healing in Budapest
We arrived in Budapest in the early afternoon by train, and so my first impressions of it were based on the train station. I'm not really well-versed in architectural terms so I could not give you any technical (i.e. intelligent) description of the place. The best that I could do is to say that the train station and the area immediately surrounding it looked like a set from one an early James Bond movie. I half-expected an eye patch-wearing villain to suddenly appear and exclaim in a thick Eastern European accent that we will all be held under hostage until the government agrees to give him a thousand gold bars.
Any James Bond-fantasies I harbored was quickly dissipated though as our next stop was the parliament, where we couldn't help but exclaim in awe about just how beautiful this structure is. To say that it is one of the most magnificent government buildings in the world is definitely not an understatement.
From here we took a quick walk to the Shoes on the Danube Bank monument to spend a few quiet moments in remembrance of those whose lives are honored here. After a quick prayer, we walked to an area with no tourists as we were planning to cross off one item on my bucket list: dipping my feet in the Danube.
Contrary to how hectic our first half day in Budapest was, the following morning's agenda had just one item: the Gellert Thermal Bath.
The country's baths were actually why, despite our schedule already being packed, I was adamant about including a stop in Hungary in our trip. I trace this mild obsession back to when I was a kid and my mom came home with this thick book called "Circling the Globe." It featured different countries and had snippets on each one's history, culture, geography and interesting tourist spots. I remember just flipping through it and reading interesting portions whenever I had nothing to do.
And so on that cold spring day, while the city was just beginning to stir from its sleep, we headed to the hotel that housed the bath.
What greeted me at hot pool were old men, all locals, sitting together in small groups while they talked and soaked in the water. I was a bit apprehensive about going into the water because of that. It felt like we made a mistake and went into a members-only club instead of a public bath. But aside from a few discreet glances, the kind you make when someone new arrives, we were pretty much left alone to enjoy the thermal pool.
And enjoy it we did. Maybe it's because we've been traveling non-stop for almost two weeks by that time, or maybe that is what bathing in natural spring water does to you, but I struggled to stay awake while immersed in the pool. It was the most relaxed I've been in a long while. Budapest was our sixth city-stop in a 13-city tour. I don't know how we could have had the energy to enthusiastically continue the trip had we not enjoyed a relaxing soak in the city's healing waters.
The country's baths were actually why, despite our schedule already being packed, I was adamant about including a stop in Hungary in our trip. I trace this mild obsession back to when I was a kid and my mom came home with this thick book called "Circling the Globe." It featured different countries and had snippets on each one's history, culture, geography and interesting tourist spots. I remember just flipping through it and reading interesting portions whenever I had nothing to do.
The section on Hungary, specifically on how it was famous for its thermal baths, was particularly striking. I have this memory of being hunched over our dining table, looking at a picture of one of its outdoor thermal pools and thinking how wonderfully vivid the color of the turquoise water was.
And so on that cold spring day, while the city was just beginning to stir from its sleep, we headed to the hotel that housed the bath.
What greeted me at hot pool were old men, all locals, sitting together in small groups while they talked and soaked in the water. I was a bit apprehensive about going into the water because of that. It felt like we made a mistake and went into a members-only club instead of a public bath. But aside from a few discreet glances, the kind you make when someone new arrives, we were pretty much left alone to enjoy the thermal pool.
And enjoy it we did. Maybe it's because we've been traveling non-stop for almost two weeks by that time, or maybe that is what bathing in natural spring water does to you, but I struggled to stay awake while immersed in the pool. It was the most relaxed I've been in a long while. Budapest was our sixth city-stop in a 13-city tour. I don't know how we could have had the energy to enthusiastically continue the trip had we not enjoyed a relaxing soak in the city's healing waters.
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| Doesn't it look like a James Bond set? |
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| Shoes on the Danube Bank |
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| This was a cold pool. We made an attempt to swim, but our tropical bodies couldn't handle it haha |
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| This reminds me of the movie Grand Budapest Hotel |
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